Troy Denning - The Sentinel

Stepping past Malik’s sleeping form, Arietta rose and went aft to Kleef’s side. “How are you feeling?” she asked. “I can pilot the raft for a while, if you’d like to sit down.”

Kleef shook his head. “No sitting for me,” he said. “I’ll fall asleep.”

“And Yder will come?”

“Without a doubt.” Kleef began to row gently, moving them away from a ripple in the river that suggested a submerged rock. “And the last time he entered my dreams, we almost lost the Eye.”

“I know,” Arietta said. “But we have to think of something. You can’t stay awake forever.”

“I can stay awake for a while,” Kleef said.

“And if the Shadovar find us anyway, when you’re not rested?” she asked. “That would be just as bad. It could be worse.”

Kleef was silent for a moment, then said, “They won’t find us-not if I don’t fall asleep.”

“Because Theamont said so?” Arietta shook her head. “I’m sure he believed that, but the Shadovar are very resourceful-and very determined.”

Kleef stopped rowing and looked over. “Where’s this going?” he asked. “Are you telling me you have a better idea?”

Arietta paused, surprised by the note of desperation in Kleef’s voice. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be worried, too, that his stoic demeanor might be no more than a mask hiding his own fears.

After a moment, she said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have one. I was just hoping there might be a more workable solution.”

Kleef continued to study her for a moment, then said, “Maybe there is.” He turned back to the river. “It might be best for me to leave the group and climb out of the canyon.”

Arietta’s stomach clenched. “Kleef, forgive me for saying so, but that would be very stupid. How long do you think it would take Yder to locate the rest of us after he found you?”

“That depends on how long I can stay awake,” Kleef said. “If I can last three or four days-”

“Kleef, we built a raft,” Arietta interrupted. “We’re floating down a canyon. You don’t think Yder would see some hint of that in your dreams?”

Kleef clenched his jaw, then nodded. “I guess he would.”

“So there’s nothing to be gained by leaving.” Arietta laid a hand on his forearm and gave it a soft squeeze. “Everyone is better off with you here, believe me.”

Kleef looked at the hand on his arm, then smiled and dipped his head. “You leave me no choice, my lady,” he said. “I’ll stay.”

“Good. And thank you.” Arietta returned his smile, then realized that-no matter how angry she was with Siamorphe-it would be wrong to reward his loyalty by continuing to deceive him about who she was. “Kleef, there’s something you should know. I’m not exactly who I’ve been claiming.”

Kleef frowned. “I thought we’d been through that,” he said. “Are you not Arietta Seasilver after all?”

“No, I am Arietta,” she said. “But I’m afraid I’ve been fooling myself about being one of the Chosen. I’m sorry to have misled you.”

Kleef’s jaw dropped, and he stared at her without speaking a word.

After a moment, Arietta grew uncomfortable. She could not bear the thought of Kleef thinking of her as a self-deceiving fool, but it was better that he hear the truth from her than Malik.

“Is it really such a terrible mistake?” she asked. “I would have told you earlier, but I just discovered it myself.”

“Not so terrible,” Kleef said. “It’s just that you … well, you apologized.”

Arietta raised her brow. “Yes, I suppose I did.” She was as surprised as Kleef, for it was an unspoken rule of life in Marsember that a noble never apologized to a commoner. Fortunately, Arietta was no longer in Marsember. “And I meant it. I wouldn’t deceive you on purpose. Not again.”

A look of mock suspicion came to Kleef’s face. “Are you really Arietta Seasilver?”

Arietta smiled. “It’s hard to believe, I know,” she said. “I’m still a little stunned myself.”

“Well enough,” Kleef said, laughing. “Apology accepted-not that I needed one.”

Arietta did not find the remark reassuring. “Why not?” she asked. “Because you don’t care that I’m not Chosen? Or because you already knew? Please be honest.”

“Because what you call yourself isn’t as important as what you do,” Kleef said. “You’re here, trying to do right by your god and your realm. That’s all that matters to me.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“But it’s honest,” Kleef said. “That’s what you asked for-and it’s all you’re going to get from me.”

Arietta smiled wistfully. “Then I guess I have my answer.” She rose onto her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for being so gentle.”

Kleef’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He studied her openly for a moment, his expression slowly changing from surprise to delight, then he nodded to himself and, smiling, looked back to the river. Arietta returned to her perch at the front of the raft, took up the trident again, and they continued to float down the canyon.

Kleef’s pragmatic dodge had made her realize that she was behaving like the worst sort of noble, worrying about appearances rather than substance. Kleef and Joelle had never cared whether she was Chosen or not, only that she was there with an arrow when the need arose. And Malik had cared only because her delusion gave him a way to avenge his wounded pride.

But Kleef was right. The best thing she could do for her companions-and the mission-was to let go of her wounded pride. She had to accept herself for who she truly was, then do everything in her power to deliver the Eye to Grumbar’s Temple.

With her mind at ease, Arietta soon caught two large river gar that they roasted over the cooking fire that evening. Determined not to sleep, Kleef insisted on standing vigil all night, then rowing all day.

As incredible as Kleef’s stamina was, Arietta and Joelle knew it couldn’t last forever. By the third day, they’d thought of several ways to keep Yder away, such as asking Sune to guard Kleef in his sleep or allowing him to rest only during the day, when Yder might not be searching for a way into his dreams. But Kleef rejected them all, and in the end the two women resorted to simply keeping him company, maintaining a constant stream of chatter to make certain he did not fall asleep.

The gorge continued to deepen and darken, with waterfalls and tributaries feeding the river from both sides. The sky became a jagged band of light trapped between the rocky walls of the canyon. As often as not, the sky was filled with rippling fans of color-green and gold, sometimes even crimson and purple-but it was never blue. When the sun appeared at all, it was dim and mottled, or shaped like a sickle or a spider or a skull.

On the fifth day, Kleef said, “Someone’s watching us.”

Arietta grabbed her bow, then stood and followed his gaze down river. He seemed to be looking about fifty feet up the canyon wall, where a lone dragon tree clung to a small ledge.

“Where?” Arietta asked. “All I see is a tree.”

“Under the tree,” Kleef said. He had bags beneath his eyes the size of Arietta’s thumbs, and his posture was so slouched and awkward it looked as though he might collapse any moment. “There’s a man in a robe. Bald and thin, sunken gray eyes.”

Arietta stepped to Kleef’s side, then double-checked his line of sight and saw that he was still looking toward the ledge. She glanced back at Joelle, who had been seated next to her in the back of the raft, and gave her head a worried shake. Joelle nodded and stepped to Kleef’s other side.

“I don’t see him, either,” Joelle said. “Can you point him out?”